Seventeen Evergreen: Lunar One
Seventeen Evergreen are singers, multi-instrumentalists, & most importantly storytellers of imagination & super-reality. Together Caleb Pate & Nephi Evans exude an organic electronic/rock hybrid, kite flying amongst sonic sorcerers Boards Of Canada, MBV, early Pink Floyd and the ubiquitous Pavement.
As lead singer Caleb puts it, “We’re interested in expressing an Eno-esque nostalgia for the future, a message of escapist optimism amidst technological and financial meltdown, and a disappointment in humanity near and far.”
Lead track, ‘Lunar One’ is a haunting adventure of constant cosmos fascination, with our traveler leading a determined mission for advancement, “I’m comin’ up on you, there’s not a thing that you can do…” ‘Lunar One’ explores the loneliness, as well as the heroism, of space exploration & earthly escapism, “In space rock(y) (he) went up, in smoke for the crowd, with lunar ideas he got lost”, but he was still “a new star for all to see”, his final irony captured succinctly upon arrival, “what a messed up place, won’t you take me down!”
New tracks ‘Burn The Fruit’ & ‘Atlas‘ further throw the spotlight on the range of their repertoire. The former, which emerged from a percussion party with friends, pits Steve Reich in an imaginary jam with Talking Heads whilst Hot Chip, Giorgio Moroder and the aforementioned Eno fight, superhero gloves off, over the mixing desk. You’ll certainly feel a more delicate acoustic edge from the latter, a psychedelic ballad set to a dreamscape while paying tribute to a tired and weary Greek titan.
In addition the inclusion of remixes of album tracks offer up more surprises. Corker Conboy add extra spine-tingle to album closer, ‘Andromedan Dreams Of An Octaroon’, with strings from Ninja signed Coldcut collaborator John Mathias who wrote and played strings for Radiohead’s beyond-classic ‘The Bends.’ Corker Conboy themselves have scored success, soundtracking director Antonia Bird’s Emmy-nominated 9/11 docudrama, ‘The Hamburg Cell.’ The man who made The Cure’s keyboards extra-Gothic, Roger O’Donnell, lends further outer-space to ‘Constellation’, with his unique floating gossamer sounds! Finally, we come full circle with standout Ninja artist Fink acoustically strumming out the soulful minimalism of ‘Lunar One’.
Seventeen Evergreen’s inspiration goes far beyond the sonic, of course, and the ‘Lunar’ EP artwork continues their strong association with visionaries Encyclopedia Pictura, and which has seen their ground-breaking video for debut single ‘Haven’t Been Yourself’ nominated for awards worldwide. Encyclopedia Pictura have also prepared the visuals for the live dates that the band will be performing in London, June 2007. and are now also working on superstar videos for Grizzly Bear, Devendra Banhart & other luminary muso-individualists!
In all, where others cough and splutter, Seventeen Evergreen stroll, slowly and calmly, along life’s many paths, savouring the detail of every rose, tainted or otherwise, along the way.
